Newly crowned Australian Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa will face his toughest test to date when he takes on UFC veteran James McSweeney at AFC 17 in October.
The event takes place at the Melbourne Pavilion on October 15 and will also feature the semi-final matchups in the promotion’s lightweight tournament.
Fighting out of the Lions High Performance Centre in Sydney, Tuivasa, who recently spent time training alongside Mark Hunt, snatched the heavyweight title in just 21 seconds with a dominant KO stoppage of Brandon Sosoli in June (fight video). The quick-fire victory followed the 23 year-old’s 44 second demolition of combat sports veteran Gul Pohatu late last year in Sydney (fight video). “Bam Bam” will now look to build on his recent momentum with a win over the Brit veteran.
McSweeney is no stranger to fighting in Australia and remains undefeated down under with victories over Felise Leniu, Kym Robinson, Sam Brown, Jeff King and Doug Viney, while also holding a first round stoppage win over Brisbane based heavyweight Chris Lokteff in One Championship. A 29 fight veteran, The Ultimate Fighter 10 alum has faced the likes of Matt Mitrione, Roy Nelson, Travis Browne and Ricco Rodriguez in a career which spans almost a decade. Recently, however, the 35 year-old has seen mixed results and will be eager to rebound against Tuivasa after falling to KSW heavyweight champion Karol Bedorf in Poland.
Fight Card:
- Tai Tuivasa (c) vs James McSweeney – Heavyweight Title Fight
- Ben Wall vs Rob Hill – Lightweight Tournament Semi-Final
- James Bishop vs Gokhan Turkyilmaz – Lightweight Tournament Semi-Final
* Keep an eye on the AFC 17 event page here for further updates
